A senior Iranian diplomat has denounced Israel’s ongoing atrocities in the besieged Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and Lebanon in light of the United States’ support, warning against the expansionist objectives of the occupying regime.

Ali Asghar Khaji, a senior aide on political affairs to Iran’s foreign minister, made the remarks on Monday as he met with Mustafa Yurdakul, the Director General of the Syria Department at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, at the 24th international Astana meeting on Syria held in the Kazakh capital city of Astana.

Khaji also condemned the Israeli regime’s mass genocide of Palestinians in view of Washington’s support, cautioning against Israel’s expansionist objectives in West Asia, particularly in Syria.

The senior Iranian diplomat also underlined the need for an effective strategy in order to counter Israel’s expansionist goals which are aimed at changing the reality on the ground in the region.

He voiced support for possible rapprochement and restoration of Ankara-Damascus diplomatic ties, stressing that normalization of mutual relations between the two neighboring countries would be an important development given the current state of affairs in West Asia.

Yurdakul, for his part, expressed concerns over the repercussions of ongoing Israeli attacks across the region, demanding an immediate end to the atrocities.

The two sides also exchanged viewpoints on the latest situation in the region, as well as unfolding political developments in Syria, especially in shadow of the crimes and aggressive attacks of the Zionist regime.

Iran and Russia, as the allies of the Syrian government, as well as Turkey, which sides with the opposition, set up the Astana peace process in January 2017 intending to put an end to the Syrian conflict through the involvement of the Syrian government and the opposition.

Separately, Khaji met with Russian president’s special envoy on Syria Alexander Lavrentiev, and the two diplomats discussed the status quo in the region in the light of the Israeli regime’s acts of aggression, as well as political and field developments in Syria.

Referring to the escalating Israeli strikes on Syria as well as its atrocious campaign against the Arab nation, the Iranian diplomat called for collective efforts to stop these attacks and hold the Zionist regime to account in international bodies.

While emphasizing Iran’s principled position in supporting any peace initiative to tackle the Syrian conflict, Khaji welcomed normalization of ties between Turkey and Syria and expressed Tehran’s readiness to facilitate such reconciliation.

For his part, Lavrentiev acknowledged the precarious and sensitive situation in West Asia amid Israeli attacks on Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon, expressing deep concerns over the negative consequences of increasing tensions in the region on the territorial integrity of Syria and its stability.

The two top diplomats also emphasized the need to adopt appropriate measures in order to safeguard the achievements of guarantors of the Astana peace process in the light of the region’s current critical stage.